Pruitt had a steely expression during the Vol Walk, and, with an eye on the big picture, he didn’t see his first win as cause for celebration.

“I don’t see this no different than any other game I’ve coached in,” said Pruitt, who became the fifth straight Vols coach to win his home debut.

“I’m happy we won. … There’s a standard that we want to play to, and everything wasn’t perfect this week. Everything wasn’t perfect in the last couple of days trying to get things right — even our warmups today. But we’re learning from it, and I think it’ll make us a better football team, and it’s going to make us a better football program.”

It’s not worth trying to take much of substance from this game. ETSU (1-1) is in its fourth season after reviving the program. It isn’t an FCS power, to be sure.

But never mind the opponent for a second.

On this Saturday, the Vols had something to celebrate. That’s nothing to sneeze at considering what unfolded the past 12 months — a 4-8 season in 2017, a football coach and athletic director firing and a chaotic coaching search that produced Pruitt.

“This week was a great step forward for the UT football program,” center Ryan Johnson said.

Tennessee Head Coach Jeremy Pruitt walks in the Vol Walk before a Tennessee Vols football game against ETSU outside Neyland Stadium Saturday, Sept. 8, 2018.

The Vols (1-1) snapped a four-game losing streak that dated back to last season.

There’s still reason to doubt that Pruitt is positioned to make this a quick turnaround. Even in a blowout victory, Pruitt observed “a ton of mistakes.” For one, the fact that the Vols’ offensive line got outclassed during the first quarter was alarming.

“A lot of positives in this game. There’s still a lot of lessons that we can learn,” Pruitt said. “We’ve got a very inexperienced group, and I hope we take the lessons from this game and improve on them.”

The Vols have another cupcake next week when they host Texas-El Paso. Then it’s back to reality with Pruitt’s first crack at a rivalry game, when the Vols host Florida on Sept. 22.

That Florida game will be much more telling about how this Tennessee season might unfold than anything that happened against ETSU.

Saturday was a coronation, a way for the Vols and their fans to celebrate something good with their rookie coach.